Circulation, stratification and seamounts in the Southwest Indian Ocean

Circulation in the vicinity of six seamounts along the Southwest Indian Ridge was studied as part of a multidisciplinary survey in November 2009. Examination of altimetric data shows that several of the seamounts lie in the area of slow mean westward flow between the southern tip of Madagascar (25 °S) and the Agulhas Return Current (ARC) flowing eastward between 37–40 °S. The mean westward drift of mesoscale features was 4.1±0.9 cm s−1. Integrated between Madagascar and 37 °S, this westward drift can account for 50 Sv (1 Sv=106m3s−1), which, added to 25 Sv of southward flow past Madagascar, is sufficient to account for the total Agulhas Current transport of 70±21 Sv. The transport of the ARC was also measured, at two longitudes, down to 2000 m. Combined with earlier crossings of the ARC in 1986 and 1995, the full depth transport of the ARC is estimated at 71–85 Sv at longitudes 40–50 °E, indicating that the Agulhas Current then ARC transport continues unreduced as far as 50 °E before beginning to recirculate in the Southwest Indian Ocean subtropical gyre. The primary control on the circulation near each seamount was its position relative to any mesoscale eddy at the time of the survey. Melville lay on the flank of a cyclonic eddy that had broken off the ARC and was propagating west before remerging with the next meander of the ARC. Nearby Sapmer, on the other hand, was in the centre of an anticyclonic eddy, resulting in very weak stratification over the seamount at the time of the survey. Middle of What lies most often on the northern flank of the ARC, in strong currents, but was at the time of the survey near the edge of the same eddy as Sapmer. Coral, in the Subtropical Front south of the ARC, was in waters much colder, fresher, denser and more oxygenated than all the other seamounts. Walter was close to the path of eddies propagating southwest from east of Madagascar, while Atlantis, the furthest east and north seamount, experienced the weakest eddy currents

Flourishing or Floundering? Policing the boundaries of economic geography

The study of economic geography is thriving. After decades of arguing for the importance of understanding the spatialities of the economy, many economists have taken heed and tried to incorporate some geographic insights into their analyses. The once-radical assertion that space, place and flows shape economies is increasingly recognized, understood and valued, it seems, by governments, think-tanks and policy-makers of all stripes (Barnes, 2018; Martin, 2018). Across the university sector, the numbers of people interested in and undertaking research in economic geography appears to be growing; the 2018 Global Conference in Economic Geography in Köln had 772 participants from over 50 countries (up from just under 700 attendees at the same conference in Oxford in 2015). Economic geography journals appear to be thriving and well-read and cited (Rodriguez-Pose, 2018). Undergraduate students flock to economic geography courses. Within the discipline, urban, cultural, environmental and development geographers have embraced the economic and strengthened our insights and interactions with other parts of geography. These researchers may not identify as Economic Geographers, but they produce economic geographical scholarship, cross-fertilize the sub-discipline, attend economic geography conferences and publish in economic journals

The Labour Market Impact of the Run on Northern Rock: Continuity and Evolution in an old Industrial Region

The Northern Rock mortgage bank was a high profile casualty of the credit crunch in 2007. A longitudinal investigation focused on the redundancy and resettlement of employees at the bank provides a case study of the labour market impact of the banking crisis on the North East of England. An evolutionary geographical political economy approach indicates that Northern RockÕs growth and decline was shaped by its location in an old industrial region, and echoes the historical position of the peripheral region in the spatial division of labour. The Northern Rock case highlights the enduring occupational structure of the regionÕs labour market, and suggests older industrial regions may suffer from a process of Ôoccupational disadvantageÕ that restricts their ability to adapt to economic change.Financial crisis, Northern Rock, Labour market impact, Evolutionary geographical political economy

Global supermarkets’ corporate social responsibility commitments to public health: a content analysis

Background: Supermarkets have unprecedented political and economic power in the food system and an inherent responsibility to demonstrate good corporate citizenship via corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of this study was to investigate the world’s largest and most powerful supermarkets’ publically available CSR commitments to determine their potential impact on public health. Methods: The world’s largest 100 retailers were identified using the Global Powers of Retailing report. Thirty-one supermarkets that published corporate reports referring to CSR or sustainability, in English, between 2013 and 2018, were included and thematically analysed. Results: Although a large number of themes were identified (n = 79), and there were differences between each business, supermarket CSR commitments focused on five priorities: donating surplus food to charities for redistribution to feed the hungry; reducing and recovering food waste; sustainably sourcing specific ingredients including seafood, palm oil, soy and cocoa; governance of food safety; and growing the number of own brand foods available, that are made by suppliers to meet supermarkets’ requirements. Conclusions: CSR commitments made by 31 of the world’s largest supermarkets showed they appeared willing to take steps to improve sustainable sourcing of specific ingredients, but there was little action being taken to support health and nutrition. Although some supermarket CSR initiatives showed promise, the world’s largest supermarkets could do more to use their power to support public health. It is recommended they should: (1) transparently report food waste encompassing the whole of the food system in their waste reduction efforts; (2) support healthful and sustainable diets by reducing production and consumption of discretionary foods, meat, and other ingredients with high social and environmental impacts; (3) remove unhealthful confectionery, snacks, and sweetened beverages from prominent in-store locations; (4) ensure a variety of minimally processed nutritious foods are widely available; and (5) introduce initiatives to make healthful foods more affordable, support consumers to select healthful and sustainable foods, and report healthful food sales as a proportion of total food sales, using transparent criteria for key terms

The Nature and Quality of Australian Supermarkets' Policies that can Impact Public Health Nutrition, and Evidence of their Practical Application: A Cross-Sectional Study

Improving population diets is a public health priority, and calls have been made for corporations such as supermarkets to contribute. Supermarkets hold a powerful position within the food system, and one source of power is supermarket own brand foods (SOBFs). Many of the world's largest supermarkets have corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that can impact public health, but little is known about their quality or practical application. This study examines the nature and quality of Australian supermarkets' CSR policies that can impact public health nutrition, and provides evidence of practical applications for SOBFs. A content analysis of CSR policies was conducted. Evidence of supermarkets putting CSR policies into practice was derived from observational audits of 3940 SOBFs in three large exemplar supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths, IGA) in Perth, Western Australia (WA). All supermarkets had some CSR policies that could impact public health nutrition; however, over half related to sustainability, and many lacked specificity. All supermarkets sold some nutritious SOBFs, using marketing techniques that made them visible. Findings suggest Australian supermarket CSR policies are not likely to adequately contribute to improving population diets or sustainability of food systems. Setting robust and meaningful targets, and improving transparency and specificity of CSR policies, would improve the nature and quality of supermarket CSR policies and increase the likelihood of a public health benefit

Alignment of supermarket own brand foods' front-of-pack nutrition labelling with measures of nutritional quality: An Australian perspective

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Two voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labels (FOPNL) are present in Australia: the government-led Health Star Ratings (HSR) and food industry-led Daily Intake Guide (DIG). Australia’s two largest supermarkets are key supporters of HSR, pledging uptake on all supermarket own brand foods (SOBF). This study aimed to examine prevalence of FOPNL on SOBF, and alignment with patterns of nutritional quality. Photographic audits of all SOBF present in three large supermarkets were conducted in Perth, Western Australia, in 2017. Foods were classified as nutritious or nutrient-poor based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE), NOVA level of food processing, and HSR score. Most (81.5%) SOBF featured FOPNL, with only 55.1% displaying HSR. HSR was present on 69.2% of Coles, 54.0% of Woolworths, and none of IGA SOBF. Half (51.3%) of SOBF were classified as nutritious using the AGTHE, but using NOVA, 56.9% were ultra-processed foods. Nutrient-poor and ultra-processed SOBF were more likely than nutritious foods to include HSR, yet many of these foods achieved HSR scores of 2.5 stars or above, implying they were a healthy choice. Supermarkets have a powerful position in the Australian food system, and they could do more to support healthy food selection through responsible FOPNL

An introduction to the physical oceanography of six seamounts in the southwest Indian Ocean

Exploratory surveys of six seamounts in the Southwest Indian Ocean provide a description of physical processes induced by seamounts along the Southwest Indian Ridge. Mean currents (15–25 cm s−1) in the vicinity of each seamount were dominated by mesoscale eddies. The dominant seamount-driven process was the generation of internal tides by the barotropic tide interacting with the seamount crests. This led to enhanced shear in the vicinity of the crests resulting in mixing where stratification was weak, for example in the core of an anticyclonic mesoscale eddy or where there had been a winter mixed layer. Tidally driven up- and downwelling was observed at the seabed with associated variability in bottom temperature of up to 3 °C over a tidal cycle. Vertical displacement of isopycnals by internal tidal waves reached 200 m peak to trough. Fluorescence in the surface (eutrophic) layer could thus extend down to the seamount crest on each tidal cycle. Apparently spatial variations in short conductivity/temperature/depth sections across each seamount were probably aliased temporal variations from the strong tidal signal. Evidence for Taylor caps or other potential trapped circulations at the seamount crest was weak, most likely because currents associated with mesoscale eddies were too strong to allow their formation

Assigning Triaged Patients to Treatment Rooms in a Hospital Emergency Department

The assigning of new arrivals at a hospital emergency department to treatment rooms was examined. New patients are summarily triaged and assigned to a treatment room based on severity of their symptoms, the grade of a treatment room, and an exponential benefit curve that encourages the solver to schedule the most severe cases early. SAS’s OPTMODEL modeling language was employed to build the model and SAS’s MILP solver was used to perform the scheduling. Up to thirty patients were optimally assigned to depict the example of a large emergency department

Firm finances, weather derivatives and geography

This paper considers some intellectual, practical and political dimensions of collaboration between human and physical geographers exploring how firms are using relatively new financial products – weather derivatives – to displace any costs of weather-related uncertainty and risk. The paper defines weather derivatives and indicates how they differ from weather insurance products before considering the geo-political, cultural and economic context for their creation. The paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges of research collaboration across the human–physical geography divide and suggests that while such initiatives may be undermined by a range of institutional and intellectual factors, conversations between physical and human geographers remain and are likely to become increasingly pertinent. The creation of a market in weather derivatives raises a host of urgent political and regulatory questions and the confluence of natural and social knowledges, co-existing within and through the geography academy, provides a constructive and creative basis from which to engage with this new market and wider discourses of uneven economic development and climate change